Historic Garrison, Putnam County

Saturday, June 20, 2015

10AM -- Meet @ the Mandeville House
Lower Station Road (parking at the back of the house)

We will tour the Mandeville House, a Dutch timber-frame house stated to be built c.1735 & later the home of the famous architect Richard Upjohn. After lunch we will tour what is referred by HABS as the Galloway House of the Gristmill Historic District. As part of the district is also a recently restored Gristmill (believed to be the oldest in the county) and New World Dutch Barn

Directions: Lower Station Road is the western extension of the four way intersection of Route 9D & 403. If coming from the north on Rt 9D make a left at the traffic light. If coming from Route 9, take Rt. 403 west to end, then straight through traffic light. The white wood-frame house will be your right just after the intersection.

High And Low: Troy Rowhouses

Saturday, May 16, 2015

The tour starts at 10AM at 57 Second Street, present home of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, built for Richard and Betsy Hart in 1827. From there we'll visit a house built in the same year, for the same couple, as a rental property. Next up is a visit to one of the largest residential projects constructed anywhere in the US in the 1830s--Washington Place (1836-42)--after which we'll finish the tour at Franklin Place (1838-40)--a contemporary row built and lived in by the mechanics who constructed Washington Place.

Here are directions, from the Historical Society's website:

The Rensselaer County Historical Society is located in the heart of the Second Street Historic District in downtown Troy. From NYS Thruways I-90 and I-87, take I-787 North to Route 7 East (Troy/Bennington). Follow Rt. 7 across the Hudson River. Stay in right hand land on bridge and follow signs for “Downtown Troy.” As you get on the ramp for downtown Troy stay in the left lane. This will put you on 6th Avenue/ Follow 6th Avenue tothe end of the road, approximately 5 blocks. At the end you are forced to make a right turn on to Congress Street. Proceed on Congress until you reach the intersection of Congress and Second, there is a traffic light. Make a right on to Second Street. RCHS is the 4th building on the left.

Please note: Many of the streets in downtown Troy are one way. In addition, Saturday is very busy in downtown; Troy's Farmer's Market will be in full swing. It is suggested that you park a couple of blocks to the south of our first stop--First, Second or Third Street between Washington and Division streets are all likely to have good parking opportunities. The tour will proceed from North to south, so that will also put you in a good spot when the tour is done!

HVVA Study Tour in Claverack, N.Y.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Where Route 9 meets Routes 9H/23 (traffic light at Bells Pond), stay straight on 9H/23 to the village of Claverack, NY

Go thru the Claverack traffic light north on 9H for about .3 mile

The church is on the right

GPS setting: 72 Hwy 9H, Hudson, NY

The Church was built on land deeded by John Van Rensselaer of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck. It was started and completed in 1767. It is said to have been constructed of local brick and brick from Holland. The original church was not as long as the present building by some thirty feet, nor did it have the front tower or rear wings. There was, however, a quaint little belfry on the front part of the roof. The tower and wings were added in the early 19th century.

In addition to the church we will also visit:

The Van Ness/Armstrong house - ca 1732

The Hogeboom/Armstrong house - pre 1800

The Miller/Van Deusen Dutch Barn - ca 1760

We’ll park at the church and carpool to the other properties which are within a mile of each other. Lunch is at Kozel’s Restaurant, Route 9H, Ghent, NY.

April 18, 2014

March Study Tour

Saturday, March 21, 2015

From there we will be visiting a late 18th-century stone house in a beautiful setting outside of Stone Ridge. It has been altered and later “restored” in what appears to be the usual pattern: early 19th century to the plan to create a center hall, late-19th-century refinements including a front piazza, and early-20th-century antiquarian restoration recovering the house from dereliction, and late-20-century improvements to the kitchen. The earliest documented owner was John Cushnahan, who is listed in the 1798 tax list and the 1800 census.

Followed by lunch and brief meeting at the Hurley Mountain Inn
106 Old Route 209, Hurley, NY

HVVA Tour of Schodack Landing

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Today’s tour offers a rare peek at five adjacent properties within the village of Schodack Landing, and within the Schodack Landing Historic District. Included are four 18th century houses and the village cemetery.

HVVA Study Tour: Three Stone Houses in Marbletown, Ulster County

June 21, 2014

10:00 - Meet at the 1784 Henry Brodhead House at 550 North Marbletown Road, on the corner of Fording Place Road. The parking area is behind the house, off Fording Place. Hosts Ken Krabbenhoft and Ferris Cook.

11:30 - Tour of the 1726 ‘Widow Davis’ Tavern at 2904 Rte 209. Those interested can walk there from the Brodhead House, about fifteen minutes on back roads along the Esopus Creek (high heels not recommended). Others can make the very short drive down Route 209. Host Vince Guido.

12:45-1:00 - Return to the Brodhead House en route to lunch at the Marbletown Inn, a couple of minutes up the road on foot, even fewer on wheels.

2:30 - Caravan to the 1753-1800 Andries DeWitt House at 2323 Hurley Mountain Road. We are also invited to visit the Dutch barn and immense mid-nineteenth century barn on the property. Hosts Peter del Rio and Elaine Young.

4:30 - End of tour.

Directions to the Brodhead House:

Take the New York State Thruway to Exit 19/Kingston. At the traffic circle follow signs to Rte. 209 South/Ellenville. Be careful when merging onto 209, as the lane crosses an exit approach. From here to 550 North Marbletown Road is about 6 miles.

Landmarks:
0.5 miles -- NY State Police barracks on the left.
2.0 miles – Hurley overpass.
5.5 miles – Ulster County Historical Society, a large stone building on the right.

Exit:
North Marbletown is the first right after the Historical Society. Passing behind the Marbletown Inn and the volunteer Fire Department on your left, you will see the Henry Brodhead house just ahead on your right. Turn on Fording Place and park behind the house.

Directions to the Andries DeWitt House:

Follow the directions above from the Thruway to Rte 209 South. Go about 6 miles to where the speed limit drops from 55 to 45. In another three quarters of a mile, once you've passed the Charles River Laboratories on your left and the driveway to the Woodland Apartments on your right, you will see a sign indicating an upcoming right turn. This is Tongore Road, a **very sharp right** just below the crest of a hill – be sure to slow before it.

Follow Tongore Road about 1.5 miles past the dairy farm and Bogart Lane (on the left) and the recreation area (on the right) to the Cantine Bridge (on the right). Turn here and go straight. This is the Hurley Mountain Road. In about 1.5 miles you’ll see a sign for the ‘Dewitt Farm, 1698’ (on the right). Please don’t block the circular driveway when you park.

North Salem in the northeast corner of Westchester County

May 17, 2014

Meeting time: 10:45 at Delancey Hall, 266 Titicus Road (route 116)

1. This grand building was built c. 1765 by Stephen Delancey. Delancey was a Loyalist, and the house was confiscated by patriots, 1777-1783. In 1787 it was remodeled to be an Academy. It was restored in the 1980’s, and Don Carpentier was involved in this work. It now serves as the North Salem Town Hall.

2. Uriah Wallace House, 264 Titicus Road. Built c.1790. It is close enough to Delancey Hall to walk to.

3. Purdy Homestead, 102 Titicus Road. Built c.1775, now the Farmer and the Fish Restaurant. In addition to seeing the house under the guidance of local historian Robert Treadway, we will also be having lunch here.

4. Mills House. 425 Mills Road. Claimed to have been built c. 1726 (plaque on end Wall).

Directions: Drive east on route 84 to exit 1 in Connecticut. Reverse direction, westbound on route 84 to New York exit 21. Proceed south on route 121 to route 116, Titicus Road. West on Titicus, crossing June Road, and a short distance beyond to Delancey Hall. Parking in the back of the Hall.

Our thanks go to Susan Thompson, Town Historian of North Salem, for her help in setting up this tour.

HVVA February Study Tour
(is actually a film screening)

Saturday, February 15th

The title of the movie is, “The Sugar Connection, Holland-Barbados-Shelter Island“. Run time is 119 minutes. According to the jacket, it “is the first documentary to show the history of 17th century Long Island, N.Y. through the science of high-tech archeology and interviews with dozens of Dutch, English and American scholars.“
It is based on a large-scale archeological excavation at Sylvester Manor, one of six 17th-century manors established on Long Island. “The excavated artifacts reveal how the Europeans, Native Americans and Africans lived together at Sylvester Manor producing provisions for their sugar plantations in Barbados“. This film brings the fascinating unknown story of 17th-century Long Island and its role in global trade to the public for the first time.

The film was provided to HVVA by Gaynell Stone, Ph.D., who directed it. It was produced by the Suffolk County Archeological Association. The event is hosted by trustee, Maggie MacDowell, please enter through the main door and you will be directed to the screening location.

The Annual Meeting of HVVA

Saturday, January 18th

10:30 am at the Elmendorph Inn

Directions to the Elmendorph Inn

The Inn is located at 7562 North Broadway (Route 9), Red Hook, NY

From the NY State Thruway (I87): take exit 19, Kingston/Rhinecliff Bridge. Follow directions to the Rhinecliff Bridge. Over the bridge stay on Rt. 199 to the second traffic light and turn left (north) on Rt. 9G. At the first traffic light turn right onto 199. Go to the center of Red Hook and at the traffic light turn left onto Rt. 9. The Elmendorph Inn is ½ mile on the right. Turn right onto Cherry Street and park behind the Inn.

From the Taconic State Parkway: take the Red Hook/Rhinebeck, Rt. 199 exit. Take 199 West to Red Hook. At the traffic light in the center of town turn right onto Rt. 9. The Elmendorph Inn is ½ mile on the right. Turn right onto Cherry Street and park behind the Inn.

Holiday Luncheon, Kingston, NY

December 14, 2013

HVVA's Monthly Study Tour
Bus trip to Brooklyn Museum

November 9, 2013

The Bus will leave from the park and ride located at NYS Thruway Exit 18 NEW PALTZ , NY at 10:30 AM. We plan to arrive back in New Paltz by 6:00 PM

This field trip is open to all members and guests for the cost of $25 per person. Admission to the museum ($12) and lunch is additional and on your own. Also of interest is the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens which is located right next to the museum. The museum is filled with many exhibits which will surely entertain a wide variety of audiences. So invite some friends and join us for what promises to be a delightful day.

PLEASE reserve your seat on the bus by sending a check made out to:
HVVA and mail to no later than November 4th, PO BOX 202, West Hurley NY 12491-0202

For more information contact Rob Sweeney 845 242 6927

Featured house for this visit is the Jan Martense Schenck House
The Jan Martense Schenck House represents the oldest architecture in the Museum’s period room collection. It is also the most complex of the period rooms in terms of reconstruction and interpretation. The house originally stood in the town of Flatlands, one of six rural towns that were to become the borough of Brooklyn. Established under the Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which became the English colony of New York in 1664, Flatlands was first called New Amersfoort, after Amersfoort in the Netherlands. The area was originally inhabited by the Carnarsie Indians.

The house is a simple two-room structure with a central chimney. Its framework is composed of a dozen heavy so-called H-bents, visible on the interior of the house, that resemble goal posts with diagonal braces. This is an ancient northern European method of construction that contrasts with the boxlike house frames that evolved in England. The house had a high-pitched roof that created a large loft for storage. The roof was covered with shingles, and the exterior walls were clad with horizontal wood clapboard siding. A section of the clapboard has been removed at one corner to expose a reconstruction of the brick nogging used as insulation. The interior walls were stuccoed between the upright supports of the H-bents.

HVVA Yorktown Tour

October 19, 2013

The town of Yorktown, originally part of the Van Cortlandt patent, straddles the Taconic Parkway providing easy access for this tour that will begin near the Croton Reservoir and move north in a loop leading back to the parkway. The tour will include a house connected to a deed dated to 1724, an 18th century farmhouse that evolved from an early tenant structure and the Hallock’s Mill site which includes a large barn that was turned a post road inn and a ca. 1840’s house that once served as a post office. A fourth stop along the route back to the Taconic may be added and there will be a number of old houses visible from the road. All of these properties have long architectural histories that have yet to be fully elucidated. Lunch can be obtained nearby in the center of Yorktown Heights at Panera or Starbucks or at a family restaurant such as the Yorktown Coach Diner or Kirby’s Grill.

The tour will start at 10:30 am at 1110 Baptist Church Road in southern Yorktown. Take the Yorktown Heights/ Croton-on-Hudson and turn east towards Croton (i.e. towards the right at the end of the ramp when coming from the north) onto Underhill Avenue. Take the first right off Underhill- a small jog that intersects with Baldwin Road and turn right onto Baldwin Road. Baptist Church Road will be the first road on the left. The house is not very far in on the left and is painted light yellow. Maps showing the location of the other houses, whatever information we have about them and visiting times as well as the location of places to eat will be provided.

Host: J-F. DeLaperouse, Westhchester County

If you have any questions please call me at 914-302-7262 or email me at j-f.delaperouse@metmuseum.org. My cell phone number is 914-471-3072 and I will try to remember to charge my phone! In the meantime, please check out a short video on the varied old structures of Yorktown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn3Rtp9domw

Tour of Saratoga County

September 21, 2013

(Lunchtime board meeting.)

We will begin our tour at the Schuyler house, on Route 4 in the village of Schuylerville, at 10am. After touring the house, and having a brief meeting, we will have lunch, and then visit the Grand Encampment at the Saratoga Battlefield Site, which also includes the Neilson house, an early bent-framed dwelling.
Directions to the Schuyler house are found here.

Please note that we are meeting at the Schuyler house—so use those directions (they are in two parts, general—to get you to the Saratoga National Park—and specific, to get you to particular park features).

Stockade Walkabout

(Events of interest to HVVAers)

Saturday, September, 28 2013

Location: Stockade, Schenectady, Schenectady County, NY

"Walkabout 2013 is excited to announce that we already have several confirmed houses for you to enjoy this Fall. Please stay posted as we update this page throughout the upcoming months. We hope you will join us for a tour of some of the Stockade's finest historic homes on Saturday, September 28th 11am to 5 pm."

Take Exit 20
Right turn at end of ramp onto Route 32 North
One–tenth of a mile on the right to HJ parking lot.

Directions to HJ from the north taking the NYS Thruway:

Take Exit 20
Left turn at end of ramp onto Route 212 West (also considered Route 32 North)
Right turn at next traffic light onto Route 32 North.
Three–tenths of a mile on the right to HJ parking lot.

Directions to first house from HJ parking lot:
a.k.a. the Swart House, 56 High Woods Road, Saugerties

Left on Route 32 (South)
At traffic light, TURN Right onto Route 212, continue about 1.5 miles
TURN Left onto Fish Creek Road, continue 2.6 miles to house on RIGHT. (Look for Dutch Flag marking the house)

Note: 2.3 miles in, Fish Creek Road becomes High Woods Road but there are no signs, however house numbers will increase into the hundreds, then start back at ONE at the start of High Woods Road

Saturday, 13 July 2013

Location: Hurley, Ulster County, NY

“Each year on the second Saturday in July, some of America’s oldest stone houses —all private homes— are opened to the public. This year, several of the 200–300-year old homes in the old Dutch village, settled 350 years ago, will be open for your enjoyment. The time you spend in each house is at your discretion.”

Town Town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County

April 20, 2013

Directions:
Rt. 9 to Spackenkill Rd. (about 4 miles south of Mid-Hudson Bridge)
Spackenkill Rd. east to Cedar Ave (1-2 mi.)
north on Cedar Ave. to #141 on left (0.5 mi.)

We will be having lunch at a restaurant. A brief board meeting will take place as we eat.

Regarding the tour, we will start with investigating a house purported to have been started in the 18th century and visiting a cider mill associated with the property. From there we will be touring one or two other old houses in the Poughkeepsie area before having lunch in an old house converted long ago to a restaurant. We will then spend the afternoon on a walking tour of New Hamburg, a swell little old Hudson River landing, where we will have access into two or three interesting houses.

Opening: Building on the Farm: A Legacy of Architecture at the Mabee Farm

Saturday, March 30, 2013

“From the Stone House to the Inn, from the Brick House to the barns, the Mabee Farm Historical Site is home to a number of interesting architectural gems. The exhibit focuses on the unique architectural aspects of the current buildings and tells how they evolved.”

Westchester County Hamlet of Van Courtlandville, featuring the John Jones Homestead, ca 1750

Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013

Meeting Place is the John Jones Homestead, currently the home of Sarah and Paul Van Hagen.
We will meet there at 11 a.m.

Directions:

take the Taconic State Parkway south to Rt. 6 West (exit which follows Jefferson Valley)

go 4.5 miles on Rt. 6 W

make a right onto Locust Avenue and continue until it makes a T

then make right onto Oregon Avenue

John Jones House is 1 block up on Left

It is on the corner of Oregon Road and Durrin Ave.

Carpooling: Anyone interested in carpooling can meet at Conrad's house which is at:
1726 Main Street (same as Route 44), Pleasant Valley, NY 12569
Conrad needs to depart at 10 a.m. sharp as he is contact for the homeowner & our guide.

From there we shall cross the street to explore St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

After this, we break for lunch at Table 9 at the Annsville Circle.

Following lunch, tentative arrangements are in process to schedule a visit to Historic Hudson Valley's Van Cortland Manor. There will be an admission fee of approximately $10/person.

Field Documentation and Drafting for Beginners.

Saturday and Sunday, October 13th & 14th, 2012

John Stevens & Wally Wheeler will present a two day course on the what’s & why’s of field documentation & drawing. Included will be the basics of what comprises a field pack, types of measuring, what & why things are measured, drawing techniques & types, and “industry standards” for standard documentation packages like that used by the Historic American Building’s Survey.

The intent of this class is to develop among our group a larger body of folks who are able to conduct field documentation to a reliable standard (necessary if the documentation is to have long-term usefulness), and to increase the pool of folks who are able to contribute materials to the newsletter.

Commitment fee for the workshop is $50 to be returned after completing the course.

Class to be held with a min. of 4 / max. of 10. Workshop site to be announced at a later time, check website. To sign up to attend, must contact Ken Walton by Sept. 15th. Email: kaw9862@optonline.net or Phone: 845-883-0132

Tour of New World Dutch Bent-Framed Houses in Berkshire County.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

We will meet at 11am.

Today’s tour includes three really interesting examples of the results of cultural overlap on what some would call “contested ground.” In each of the three houses we will look at today, framing from the Hudson Valley encounters house forms native to New England. Join us to see the results!

Stone House Day Hurley

Saturday, July 14, 2012

10:00 AM - As tradition now has it, the HVVA’s picnic will be folded into the same day we gather to showcase the work of our organization at Hurley’s Annual Stone House Day. The potluck picnic will begin at about 4:30 in back of the Elmendorf House on Main Street. Please let us know if you are willing to volunteer at the HVVA display table during during this event.

Lecture: A Peaceable Secession: Red Hook Splits from Rhinebeck

Saturday, June 16, 2012

We will be meeting at 12 noon for a leisurely lunch at the Ever Ready Dinner on Route 9 in Rhinebeck (across from the DC Fair Grounds.)

Then journeying off to a lecture at Rokeby! It you have never been to Rokeby it is well worth the trip, if you have been to Rokeby its worth going back!

With Town Historian J. Winthrop Aldrich’s knowledgeable, amusing guidance, Red Hook’s founding and early days come to life at this illustrated talk at Rokeby, his family’s historic Hudson River estate. Jointly sponsored by the Red Hook and Rhinebeck Historical Societies, the talk features rare period maps and images.

Light refreshments. 2 p.m. – Rokeby, 845 River Road.

Please RSVP to Gallusguy@msn.com, space is limited to 10 HVVA members

HVVA Exploration- English architecture in East Haven, Branford and Guilford, Connecticut.

Saturday, June 21, 2012

Meet at 11:00 - 133 Main Street, East Haven.

5 bay, storey-and-a-half, center chimney, built c. 1790. Typical New England plan but with roof overhangs front and back like Dutch usage on Long Island and northern New Jersey. House replaced one about a hundred years older. Many timbers from the earlier house used in the construction of the first floor framing and the chimney base. Early door at top of basement stair.

Stone house built in 1639- interior and roof reconstructed by J. Frederick Kelly in the 1930’s.

14:00 - lunch at Chowder Pot III on Route 1.

15:30 - Harrison House, 124 Main Street, Branford.

5 bay, two storey, center chimney built c. 1724. Hewn overhang at front. Leanto added at a later date. Bought in 1938 by J. Frederick Kelly and restored by him.

16:30 - to Shoreline Trolley Museum in East Haven for a ride on an antique streetcar.

17:30 - return to 133 Main Street, East Haven.

Directions: Thruway or Taconic Parkway south to I-84 eastbound. Exit 11 to route 34 which you stay on to New Haven Connecticut. Watching signage carefully, get on I-95, northbound. Caution: a new bridge has just been opened over the Quinnipiac River. Exit 51, East Haven, on to Frontage Road. Keep right. At second traffic light, right turn on to Hemingway Avenue. South on Hemingway to first traffic light at Main Street. Left turn on to Main Street, andalmost immediately make left turn into the parking lot of Walgreen Drugstore on north east corner. There is no parking in front of l33 Main Street which is on the north side of the street, facing the East Haven Green.
Telephone at East Haven House: 203-468-1217. At Hurley, 845-383-1217.

Note: The distance from Kingston to East Haven is about 120 miles. Takes about 1 ½ hours to drive. Driving on a Saturday morning should not pose any problems except, as previously warned, the road disruptions in East Haven in connection with the new bridge.

English Tying Joint

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Tour of Historic Farmsteads in the Town of Rochester, Ulster County

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Following up on a project documenting 10 historic farmsteads in the Town of Rochester, Neil Larson will be conducting a tour of three of them that illustrate a range of periods from the earliest, the Osterhoudt Home Farm, which may date as early as 1720, to the latest, Appeldoorn Farm, a 1756 farmstead updated by Myron S. Teller in 1937. In between is a farm established in the 1830s by Thomas S. Schoonmaker.

In addition, we will be making a visit to Jonathan Nedbor’s Canal Forge.

We will be meeting at the parking lot of the Rochester Reformed Church, 5142 Route 209, Accord at 10 am. The tour will wrap up by 5:30 pm. There will be a Dutch-treat lunch stop at the Hillside Restaurant.

Study Tour

Saturday, February 18, 2012

HVVA Annual Meeting

Saturday, January 21, 2012

10:00 AM - The annual meeting will take place in Deyo Hall, 6 Broadhead Avenue, New Paltz, (part of the Historic Huguenot Street). A planning session and election of officers and board members will take place. Followed by a house tour and Lunch. We hope to see you there!